Colorado Railbike Adventures

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary tour. All opinions are my own.

Looking for a fun new Colorado adventure? An adventure that gets the whole family outside without too much effort? Something active and a little quirky?

Have I got the adventure for you!

Colorado Railbike Adventures is here and it checks all of these boxes!

So just what is a railbike?

As you can probably tell from the pictures here, a railbike is a pedal powered vehicle designed to run on railroad tracks. I've been seeing them pop up online on disused railroad tracks all around the world and they're such a great way to repurpose something no longer in use. The first time I saw one was when we visited Fiji in 2022. The railbikes there run on old sugar cane tracks along the coast. I had really hoped to ride the railbikes there but they were fully booked for the week of our visit, so I'm super excited that we now have such an experience here in Colorado too. 

Obviously there are no views of the ocean here in Colorado, but riding the railbike with the Flatirons and snowcapped Rocky Mountains as our view was pretty spectacular none the less!

Each railbike at Colorado Railbike Adventures seats four people.  Each person has their own set of pedals to power the railbike, but it's pretty easy going so if you have a couple of lazy riders (ahem... kids) who don't want to pedal the whole time, or if there are just two riders, you'll still move pretty easily. 

For families with little ones who are just along for the ride an extra seat can be added to the front. 

All of the seats come with seatbelts similar to what you'd find on an airplane, and harnesses are available for anyone needing something a little more secure.

So, what about the route? Right now there is one route available to ride. The Boulder Valley Mine Route is a 4.2 mile return route that travels west from Colorado Railbike Adventures' depot to Old Town Erie. Along the way the tracks pass by the Erie Disc Golf Course, through farmland, along a creek, over a trestle bridge, across bike paths, and across a road with a dedicated traffic controller. 

In the Fall there will be an 8 mile return route opening as well.

Once you reach the end of the line in Old Town Erie there is a short break at picnic tables while the staff turn the bikes around on their handy custom turn table. During this time you'll learn a little about Erie's mining and railroad history. 

The first leg of the ride is down hill so you can pretty much coast along the whole way. The return ride, however, is uphill so you'll need to put in a little more effort with the pedaling. There's no rush though as you have two hours for the entire trip.

At the depot you'll find plenty of space to relax, picnic tables, restrooms and yard games. 

If you want to see our railbike adventure in action make sure to check out my Instagram post below.

 

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A post shared by Sally Mason / Family Travel (@littlehiccups)

 

You can also see the full length video over on my YouTube channel.

Colorado Railbike Adventures is located at 4121 County Road 3, Erie, Colorado.

Tickets are $160.00 per bike for up to four passengers and can be purchased in advance online at https://www.coloradorailbikeadventures.com/experiences.